Venezuelan 2012 Baseball Team: From Black Gold to Olympic Gold?

While they don’t represent nearly 80% of the country’s exports like crude oil, baseball players are best Venezuelan products.  Felix Hernandez, Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, Omar Vizquel, Elvis Andrus, Miguel Montero, Franklin Gutierrez, Jose Altuve, Anibal Sanchez…that’s just a few of the players that could be on the Venezuelan entry in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.  After taking the Bronze Medal in the 2009 WBC, the Venezuelans could build a team capable of bringing home the gold.  Even with the aforementioned players ineligible for our fictitious Olympic Games, I believe the Venezuelans would be in medal contention anyway.

Like so many of the other teams entered by our staff, there would be no shortage of veteran leadership here.  Former Tigers teammates Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen pair up to lead this ragtag group in search of a 1st place finish.  The dynamic duo form the heart of the lineup, Ordonez anchoring the cleanup spot in the order as the DH and occasional LF.  Guillen’s versatility would be a great asset, he’d spend most of his time at the hot corner but could play anywhere in the infield(even SS in a pinch) or LF.  Guillen would hit in front of Ordonez, the fact that he’s a switch hitter makes it harder on the opposing manager in late innings .  Having two such reliable hitters would be a godsend for manager Andres “Big Cat” Galaragga and their presence alone makes the team a threat, but we’re not done there.

Luis Rodriguez may not have as much major league experience as Ordonez and Guillen, but his combination of defensive talent and versatility, switch hitting ability, and patience at the plate make him a valuable member of the team.  Hitting 9th would allow Rodriguez to act as a second leadoff hitter, getting on base in front of the thumpers to provide more scoring opportunities.  Most of his playing would come at SS, but he makes a good late inning upgrade over Guillen at 3B and could play some 2B if needed as well.  Max Ramirez rounds out the starting position players with experience in the bigs.  Sort of the opposite of Rodriguez, Ramirez’s defense behind the plate isn’t the greatest but it’s solid enough for our purposes here.  His bat is the real prize though, the combination of power and patience could have him hitting anywhere from 3rd to 5th, but to keep a good balance of RH and LH hitters Ramirez hits 6th in our lineup.

Batting 2nd and playing first base is Indians farmhand Jesus Aguilar.  He gets on base and has some pop but hasn’t played above High A ball yet.  The kid can hit a fastball, and it’s unlikely pitchers will toy around him with Guillen and Ordonez hitting behind him.  To complete the infield, White Sox prospect Carlos Sanchez plays the keystone and hits leadoff.  Sanchez was recently promoted to AA Birmingham after a strong showing in the Carolina League.  Yet another switch hitter, Sanchez has good speed and decent enough on base skills to do the job.

The most heralded member of the team in prospect world is LF Oswaldo Arcia of the Minnesota Twins.  His combination of power and patience(noticing a theme here?)  could have slotted him in the 2 hole, but I like his left handed bat hitting 5th between Ordonez and Ramirez.  He completes a pretty strong 2-6 spots in the lineup, each hitter with above average power and strong plate discipline, meaning this team could rack up runs quickly and regularly.  Playing next to Arcia in CF is Rafael Ortega of the Colorado Rockies system.  His defense and left handed bat get him in the lineup as the #7 hitter and his speed will be valuable when he gets on base.  The final starting positional player is Avisail Garcia, an All Star in the FSL this year who has continued his breakout season after a promotion to AA.  Garcia is a mountain of a young man at 6’4″ and 240 pounds and provides an intriguing power/speed combo in RF and the 8th spot in the order.  That lineup puts the team in the medal hunt for sure, and players like switch hitting C Dioner Navarro, Mets prospect Wilmer Flores, and Reds infielder Henry Rodriguez provide support for the starters to keep things rolling.

The pitching staff may not be quite as impressive but there are some familiar faces here.  The rotation is headed by Tony Armas Jr., coming out of retirement to play for his country one last time.  Yusmerio Petit never lived up to the misplaced hype he received as a prospect, but he fits in here just fine as the #2 starter.  Guillermo Moscoso had a good 2011 with the Oakland A’s but struggled like so many pitchers before him in the hostile confines of Coors Field.  His AAA numbers have been strong and he makes a good innings eater as the #3 in the rotation.  Fernando Nieve rounds out the quartet of starters, none too impressive on their own but combining to eat plenty of innings and keep their team in games.

Tigers prospect Bruce Rondon takes the closing gig with a number of minor league arms hoping to bridge the gap to him.  Felipe Rivero is the long man and the second lefty in the pen.  If it wasn’t for an injury, fellow Rays farmhand Alex Torres would have joined him.  Yoervis Medina, Jose Ascanio, Jean Machi, and Deolis Guerra are the right handers, each with varying degrees of experience and success in the minors.  Jose Alvarez of the Marlins is the main lefty in the pen for late inning matchups.  The bullpen is the one area that could be the team’s downfall, but I think the offense and starting pitching is strong enough to counterbalance the relievers.

All in all, this is a team that could end up on the podium with any of the three medals around their necks.

Batting Order:

1. Carlos Sanchez 2B

2. Jesus Aguilar 1B

3. Carlos Guillen 3B

4. Magglio Ordonez DH

5. Oswaldo Arcia LF

6. Max Ramirez C

7. Rafael Ortega CF

8. Avisail Garcia RF

9. Luis Rodriguez SS

Bench: 

Dioner Navarro C

Henry Rodriguez 2B/SS

Wilfred Tovar SS

Wilmer Flores 3B

Teodoro Martinez OF

Rotation: 

Tony Armas Jr. RHP

Yusmerio Petit RHP

Guillermo Moscoso RHP

Fernando Nieve RHP

Bullpen:

Bruce Rondon Closer

Jose Alvarez LHP

Felipe Rivero LHP

Yoervis Medina RHP

Jose Ascanio RHP

Jean Machi RHP

Deolis Guerra RHP

2 Comments on "Venezuelan 2012 Baseball Team: From Black Gold to Olympic Gold?"